It is often seen as an archetypal name for females.
華子 (華 is a kanji of many uses - 'splendor', 'flower', 'petal', 'shine', 'luster', 'ostentatious', 'showy'. 'ko' is the second kanji, meaning 'girl (child)').
People
Hanako Tsugaru, later Hanako, Princess Hitachi of Japan
Hanako Oshima (born 1973), Japanese musician
Hanako Oku (born 1978), Japanese singer/songwriter
Hisa Ōta (1868–1945), Japanese actress whose stage name was "Hanako"
Characters
Hanako (ハナコ) or Delia Ketchum, the mother of protagonist Ash Ketchum in the Pokémon anime
Hanako Ikezawa, a heroine with debilitating social anxiety derived from her burn scars from the visual novel Katawa Shoujo.
Hanako Yamada, a future rival and younger sister of Taro Yamada (Senpai) in the stealth action video game Yandere Simulator
